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Are You Undereating?by Hannah Boyl

Calories In vs. Calories Out
The basic idea of weight loss is that in order to lose weight you must consume less calories than you use.
For those of you that are not familiar, calories are the energy that we get from food as well as the energy
our body uses to live. So, we need to be giving our body energy as we use it. However, if we want to lose
weight, we can eat a few less calories and/or burn a few more with activity, forcing our body to use what it
already has stored (usually fat). Most of the time, this basic equation works for weight loss. But, sometimes,
it doesn’t…

You May Not Be Eating Enough
Some individuals have tried numerous diets, their weight has yo-yoed, and they are trying so hard to follow
this calories in vs calories out method but seeing no results. Many times, this is because they’ve restricted
their intake TOO MUCH and their body isn’t happy about it. Without getting too technical, your metabolism
has suffered because of the eating habits you’ve chosen.
We are required to have a minimum number of calories in a day just to live. That’s right, if you are just sitting
around, doing nothing, you better believe you should still be eating something. If we are not getting that mini-
mum number of calories, our body has to compensate and, usually, our metabolism suffers.
In athletes, lack of adequate calorie consumption can be quite detrimental to performance and overall
health. In the world of sports nutrition, low energy availability, also referred to as relative energy deficiency
in sport (RED-S), occurs when there are not enough calories being consumed to support both the basic body
processes and additional physical workload of an athlete. The athlete may experience an increased risk of
injury, decreased coordination, decreased concentration, irritability, impaired judgement, depression, and
decreased performance among a number of other things. Complications from poor nutrient intake can be
seen in all systems of the body. So, not only is an adequate number of calories necessary for those on a
weight loss journey, but for athletic performance and overall health as well!

Are YOU Eating Enough?
So, the big question. Are you eating enough? Some may be surprised at the number of calories they actually
need in a day.

• Are you tracking calories and macronutrients but eating less than 1500 calories per day?
• Are you eating less than 3 meals a day with no snacks?
• Are you eating small portions?
• Do you feel fatigued and run down?
All of the above are signs that you may not be getting enough to eat. Not only will you not see weight loss
benefits from this, but your health could suffer dramatically. It is very important to make sure that when
you start adding calories back in to do so with guidance from a nutrition professional. Adding calories in
too quickly could cause unwanted side effects. Also, I can give you an idea of where your caloric intake
SHOULD be for your height, weight, age, and activity level to give you a goal to work towards.

Is this you? Do you need guidance?
Please feel free to reach out, send an e-mail, give me a call, or find me on social media if you need help get-
ting your health on track!
info@hannahrdn.com

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36 • Sports Finest Magazine OCT 2019 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 545 0735 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com